Campus Technology Orientation
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Transcript Campus Technology Orientation
Filling the Void:
Real-time Interaction in the Online
Learning and Support Environment
Presenters
Beau Corkins,
Math Faculty
Gillette College
[email protected]
Keri DeDeo,
English Faculty
Sheridan College
[email protected]
Stoney Gaddy,
Director of Distance &
Distributive Learning
[email protected]
Reaching Students at a Distance
Why is it important?
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Web Conferencing in Academia
Virtual office hours
Scheduled lectures/presentations/discussions
Fully online synchronous courses
Technical support
Academic support
Student support
Other uses?
Web Conferencing Platforms
Solution
Address
Adobe Connect
http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html
Blackboard Collaborate
http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/overview.aspx
Cisco WebEx
http://www.webex.com
GoToMeeting
http://www.gotomeeting.com
Saba Centra
http://www.saba.com/online-collaboration-tools
Google+ Hangouts
http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/
Transactional Distance Theory
More than just a physical separation, the variable
"transactional distance" is defined as "a
psychological and communications space to be
crossed, a space of potential misunderstanding
between the inputs of instructor and those of the
learner".
Michael Moore. Theory of Transactional Distance. 1993. In D. Keegan (Ed.),
Theoretical principles of distance education . Page 23. London: Routledge
Transactional Distance Theory
Key interactive components that have to work
together to shorten the transactional distance and
provide for a meaningful learning experience:
Dialog between students and faculty where both parties contribute
Structure of the course to include text, media, and communication tools
Autonomy of the student to be responsible for their own learning
processes
Farhad Saba’s systems dynamics hypotheses
In 1988, Farhad Saba proposed a system dynamics model to represent the relationship
among dialog and structure.
• When structure increases, transactional distance increases and dialog decreases.
• When dialog increases, transactional distance decreases and structure decreases.
The success of online distance education may well depend upon the ability of
educational leaders to personalize the teaching and learning process to satisfy and
retain distance students (Saba, 1999).
Saba, F. (1999). Architecture of dynamic distance instructional
and learning systems. Distance Education Report, 3(8), 1-5.
Narrowing the Gap
If
a large transactional distance exists between
geographically dispersed learners and instructors, can
Web conferencing be used to:
reduce feelings of disconnectedness
increase engagement (dialog)
reduce confusion
increase learning
reduce attrition
increase motivation
reduce travel time and expense
increase satisfaction (students AND faculty)
http://wyoroad.info
A Brief NWCCD Timeline
(from pilot to Bb Building block) – Implementation to Usage
Summer 2010 – Purchased ElluminateLive!
Fall 2010 - Blackboard 9.1 implemented (20% of online courses, 52 courses)
Fall 2010 - ElluminateLive! building block implemented in Blackboard 9.1
Only a handful of instructors used it
October 2010 - DEC began using Elluminate exclusively
Spring 2011 – ElluminateLive! menu item added to each course shell
Team sites begin to sprout up Sp11-Sp12
Nursing, Dental Hygiene, ITS, Library, GC Writing Center
Spring 2012 - New sessions now in Collaborate 11
Summer 2012 - Complete migration to Collaborate 11
Virtual Classroom – Keri DeDeo
When you can’t get to class.
Present a lesson from home
Students in the classroom
Virtual Office Hours
Co-presentation for online & traditional
classroom.
Synchronous sessions
Caveats & Solutions
Feedback
Virtual Office (One-on-One Help) – Keri
Schedule
Materials
Instructions (video & print)
Emergency number
Expectations
Schedule individual sessions
Virtual Office (One-on-One Help) – Keri
Discussed essay via phone
while looking at the same
document.
Student expectations
unclear.
Co-Presentation – Keri
Co-presentation for online
& traditional classroom
Synchronous Session – Keri
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Pick Topic.
Schedule poll for session.
Remind students often.
Practice with the
technology so it runs
smoothly.
Record session for later
use.
Give students completion
survey.
Make improvements as
needed for future session.
Link students to recorded
session
Caveats & Solutions - Keri
Technology issues in the classroom
Get in early
Have a practice run
Have IT standing by
Online students relying on recording & not attending
Let them know if no one is there, a recording will not be made.
Students do not have proper technology
Set up expectations beforehand: speakers, broadband, any handouts, texts.
Optional equipment: webcam, microphone (can use phone).
Do what you can so students do not incur charges via phone or internet.
Student Feedback– Keri
A few of my favorites:
“This was very helpful.”
“Wow! This is awesome!”
“Oh. I wish I knew about this earlier in my college career.”
“Sometimes, your voice cuts out. I think it’s my Internet.”
“Can we do this every week?”
“This was fun, but we miss you!”
Virtual Classroom - Beau Corkins
Virtual Classroom - Beau
Student Perspective
Very helpful
Work can be clearly seen and then copied down in Collaborate
Responses in emails are sometimes hard to follow
It is nice being able to get questions answered in real time versus waiting for email
response
Instructor Perspective
Drawing Math symbols are much easier than typing a half hour email
Showing work/method is usually much simpler to demonstrate
Application sharing to show my desktop or see their desktop
Technical Support
Distance Learning Help Desk Support
Other possibilities?
Academic Support
Tutoring
We are currently using Smarthinking extensively
Some discussion on using student tutors in Collaborate to supplement
Smarthinking and reduce costs
Writing Center
We are currently using Smarthinking extensively
Some discussion on using student tutors in Collaborate
to supplement Smarthinking and reduce costs
Library
Implemented an “Ask a Librarian” chat solution
staffed by full-time, part-time, and student
employees
Co-presentation for online & traditional classroom.
Student Support
Counseling
Deanne Wyssmann, Director of Counseling Services, has
expressed interested and participated in ElluminateLive!
Training.
While online students who are distanced from campus have a social and support
network, we need to provide these services to our online students.
Advising
This is not yet on our radar screen
Admissions, Registration, Financial Aid
Our proposed Student-operated Online Concierge Service will be able to address
some admissions, enrollment, and financial aid questions
Committee Meetings
Two colleges separated by 99 miles
A fair number of staff and faculty members drive this on a frequent basis
Weather is a factor in the winter
ITV video conference rooms and classrooms in 16 locations
Committee work with document distribution and on-the-fly editing difficult
Distance Education Committee began meeting exclusively in ElluminateLive! starting
October 2010.
Fully Online (Synchronous) Courses
www.wyclass.wy.edu
What do we have in store for the future
Student-operated concierge service – evenings and weekends
100% Web conference courses
Workforce Development Training Initiatives
What Web conferencing initiatives has your
institution pursued?
Questions, Comments, Concerns